PHILTREAD WORKERS UNION V.
CONFESOR                                                that the instant labor dispute does not adversely affect the
                                                                                   national interest
FACTS:
   1. Petitioner filed a notice of strike on grounds of unfair labor       HELD:
       practice, more specifically union busting and violation of CBA.
       Private respondent Philtread Corporation filed a petition to        First Issue:
       declare illegal the work slowdowns staged by the petitioner             1. Articles 263 (g) and 264 of the Labor Code have been enacted
       Union.                                                                       pursuant to the police power of the State, which has been
   2. NLRC: The slowdowns engaged in by respondents are declared                    defined as the power inherent in a government to enact laws,
       illegal and by engaging in such illegal activities, respondents              within constitutional limits, to promote the order, safety,
       whose name appear in Annex "A" of the petition are deemed                    health, morals and general welfare of society.
       to have lost their employment with petitioner.                          2. Said article clearly does not interfere with the workers' right to
   3. Secretary of Labor Confesor assume jurisdiction over the labor                strike but merely regulates it, when in the exercise of such
       dispute. Petitioner then filed an MR which was denied.                       right, national interests will be affected. The rights granted by
   4. Petitioners now challenge the order of the public respondent                  the Constitution are not absolute. They are still subject to
       and raised the following issues                                             control and limitation to ensure that they are not exercised
                                                                                    arbitrarily.
ISSUES:                                                                        3. The interests of both the employers and employees are
    1. WON Article 236(g) of the Labor Code is unconstitutional?                    intended to be protected and not one of them is given undue
    2. WON Confesor acted with grave abuse of discretion?                           preference.
                                                                               4. The Labor Code vests upon the Secretary of Labor the
Petitioners Argument                                                               discretion to determine what industries are indispensable to
                                                                                    national interest. Thus, upon the determination of the
   1. Petitioners contend that Article 263 (g) of the Labor Code                    Secretary of Labor that such industry is indispensable to the
      violates the workers' right to strike which is provided for by                national interest, it will assume jurisdiction over the labor
      Section 3, Article XIII of the Constitution. The assailed order of            dispute of said industry.
      the Secretary of Labor, which enjoins the strike, is an utter            5. The assumption of jurisdiction is in the nature of police power
      interference of the workers' right to self-organization, to                   measure. This is done for the promotion of the common good
      manage their own affairs, activities and programs, and                        considering that a prolonged strike or lockout can be inimical
      therefore is illegal.                                                         to the national economy.
   2. Petitioners also argue that the assailed order was issued with                    a. Thus, his certification for compulsory arbitration is not
      grave abuse of authority. A cursory reading of Article 263 (g)                        intended to impede the workers' right to strike but to
      allegedly shows that the power of the Secretary of Labor to                           obtain a speedy settlement of the dispute.
      assume jurisdiction or to certify a dispute for compulsory
      arbitration is strictly restricted to cases involving industries     Second Issue:
      that are indispensable to national interest. Petitioners posit
1. No. Confesor did not act with grave abuse of discretion in
   issuing the certification for compulsory arbitration.
2. It had been determined that the work slowdowns conducted
   by the petitioner amounted to illegal strikes. It was shown that
   every time the respondent company failed to accede to the
   petitioner's demands, production always declined.
3. The work slowdowns, which were in effect, strikes on
   installment basis, were apparently a pattern of manipulating
   production depending on whether the petitioner union's
   demands were met.
4. Respondent company is indispensable to national interest
   considering that respondent supplies 22% of the tire products
   in the country. Furthermore, the Company is one of the tire
   manufacturers in the country employing more or less 700
   workers. Any work disruption thereat, as a result of a labor
   dispute will certainly prejudice the employment and livelihood
   of its workers and their dependents.